Students in SM, AG, Guadalupe get campus fixes

When students in three Central Coast school districts return to campus in about two weeks, they’ll find things look different than when they left school in June.

Four years after voters approved construction bonds, Santa Maria and Lucia Mar district high schools completed major projects over the summer. And thanks to special state funding, the Guadalupe Union School District has made million-dollar upgrades to its elementary and junior high schools.

In Guadalupe, Superintendent Hugo Lara called the renovations of Mary Buren Elementary and Kermit McKenzie Junior High schools “historic.”

“It’s been a busy summer just trying to make sure everything progressed,” he said.

The two schools, the only ones in the Guadalupe district, underwent more than $4 million combined in classroom renovations as part of a continuing effort to modernize them.

A hardship grant from the state provided the bulk of the funds for the modernization.

McKenzie had not been remodeled since it was built in the late 1950s, though some older sections of Buren received some light upgrades about 10 years ago.

Classrooms in the two main buildings at McKenzie were modernized with new cabinetry and other cosmetic touches, along with upgrades of the buildings' electrical, heating and ventilation systems.

Buren classrooms were outfitted with new wall surfaces, among other improvements in the same vein as the McKenzie upgrades.

The offices at both schools are also being redone, which district officials warned may cause some confusion for parents and students at the beginning of the school year.

That’s because “our school offices have been relocated,” Lara said.

McKenzie’s front office has temporarily been moved to the campus’ Student Services Center, and, at Mary Buren, Room 10 in the main building will serve as the office for now.

Meanwhile, the Lucia Mar and Santa Maria Joint Union High School districts both made progress in the completion of a list of major projects funded by two separate voter bonds.

Measure A, a $25 million construction bond passed by San Luis Obispo County voters in 2004, made a $15 million overhaul of Arroyo Grande High School possible.

“We’re pretty pleased and excited as far as Arroyo Grande High School goes. The children are going to be coming on site with the brand new multipurpose center, the brand new cafeteria functioning ... We’re really excited about that,” Deputy Superintendent of Business Mary Stark said.

The district plans to begin construction on its Engineering and Automotive Technology building at the end of the school year, and eventually build a permanent home for its new Culinary Arts Academy, which will be housed in a temporary building near the Arroyo Grande High campus when it opens later this month.

The same year Measure A passed, Santa Barbara County voters approved Measure C, a $79.4 million bond for the Santa Maria district to build a fourth comprehensive high school and upgrade facilities at its three existing ones.

Though the district has temporarily shelved plans for the fourth high school as enrollment growth has slowed, the facility upgrades detailed in the bond are well underway.

Included in Measure C was a $2 million overhaul of Santa Maria High School’s 10,945-square-foot library, the renovation of Santa Maria High’s football stadium, and construction of swimming pools at Santa Maria, Righetti and Pioneer Valley high schools.

Construction of the SMHS football stadium and Pioneer Valley High School’s pool are complete.

Righetti’s pool should be done by the end of the school year, and the library renovation is on hold so the district can re-evaluate the plans after construction bids were higher than expected.

Long-term construction plans for the district include expanding the Delta High School campus and replacing the continuation school’s portable classrooms with permanent ones, a move that will allow the 224-student campus to accommodate 100 more students.

“It’s moving right along,” Assistant Superintendent of Business Diane Bennett said of the Delta project, adding that it should be complete in time for the start of the 2010-2011 academic year.

Natalie Ragus can be reached at 347-4580 or nragus@santamariatimes.com.

August 7, 2008